Diagnosis

Epilepsy is a common disorder that affects up to 3 million Americans of all ages, races, and walks of life.
Epilepsy is just one of many different kinds of seizure disorders. There are also a number of unrelated medical conditions with seizure-like symptoms.

That's why diagnosing the exact condition is so important. It lays the groundwork for the most successful treatment possible. At the Swedish Epilepsy Center, we have the sophisticated resources vital to making an accurate diagnosis.

We start by taking a complete medical history. A 3 Tesla MRI (magnetic resonance imager) is used to look at particular brain structures and detect even the most subtle lesions. Most importantly, we carefully monitor seizures.

Using infrared videocameras, EEG recordings and other equipment, we collect valuable information to help us understand what happens before, during, and at the end of your seizures. Monitoring sessions can last several days, depending on how long it takes to capture seizures for evaluation. In certain cases, special imaging studies, called SPECT, PET and SISCOM scans, are used to give information about the function of different brain areas during and between seizures.

After all of the testing and monitoring has been completed, and a diagnosis has been made, each case is carefully reviewed to develop individual treatment plans.